(Catherine POV)
The woman who'd arrived at this castle months ago felt like stranger whose choices I could barely remember making. She'd been so afraid—of the unknown, of losing whatever identity she'd managed to claim, of being consumed by forces beyond her understanding or control.
That Catherine had seen captivity where I now saw sanctuary, had felt trapped by circumstances where I'd learned to find freedom in connection that honored rather than diminished who I chose to become.
I thought of Mother's letters, of family obligations that had once seemed like chains binding me to life that had never quite fit properly. The guilt I'd carried about choosing my happiness over their immediate comfort had faded as I'd come to understand that love sometimes meant trusting people you cared abo
